Picked up a new proj. its a good one.

351wcoupe · May 20, 2004

After a rough last 2 weeks with close friends wrecking nice cars (Prelude & 93 Lightning) I finally had a change of luck in a big way.

I got a message to call one of my dad's friends at his house because he wanted to talk to me about a car. I went over and he showed me this 64 MGB that was dissassembled. This car had a full subframe system and all sheet metal has been welded together. It also had a built 8" ford rear with 3.80 gears. It turned out to be an old SCCA car from 20 years ago and it was in extremely good shape, but with no engine or trans. Everything was there so I decided I would probably start working on a price.
"HERE"S THE DEAL" I thought uh oh don't like the sound of that.
He said there are 2 conditions
1 I can't part the car out. Everything must stay together.
2 He wants a picture to take back to the pro driver who had it last.
Otherwise the car is free along with everything with it. I couldn't contain myself.
THEN!!!!!!!
He said oh yeah the engine/trans is sitting over there. It turned out to be a 74 2.0 pinto motor that was built by racer walsh and had not even been fired since the rebuild. Beside that was a Built V8 C4 with the 2.3 bellhousing.
All of this was included. I have everything to put the car on the road except for seats

Before I came across the engine I was(obviously) thinking 2.3 turbo.
What do you guys think.
All motor 2.0 that turns 9500RPM and is probably 150 horsepower. or
A mildly worked over 2.3 turbo making 225 horsepower.

I go back to get it monday. I'll post some pics then.

Dr_EluSivE · May 20, 2004

SWEET! Mg's Rule! except my personal preference is Midgets. they are Faster and handle better. But MGB's have alot more room. The 2.3T i think is too tall to fit in my Midget. Anything you need to know about these cars Just ask. they are amazingly simple.

Dr.
(Gratuitius car pic)

351wcoupe · May 20, 2004

Dr_EluSivE said:
SWEET! Mg's Rule! except my personal preference is Midgets. they are Faster and handle better. But MGB's have alot more room. The 2.3T i think is too tall to fit in my Midget. Anything you need to know about these cars Just ask. they are amazingly simple.

Dr.
(Gratuitius car pic)

I was hoping you would respond.
Its easy to see the size difference between the B and midget when its sitting next to the mustang. I was concerned about hood height. I thought about a stock short runner intake rotated 180 and cut at an angle. The car has some kind of aluminum hood.?. Stock height but its fairly light.
He has both a weber carb/intake and a holley 2brl carb/intake for the 2.0. I figure the local mini stock guys will scoop up the holley from me quick.
I'm sure 'll have plenty of questions over the next week.

Why did they use 2 6V batteries instead of a small 12V?
What lug pattern did they have?

Dr_EluSivE · May 21, 2004

My car is a later model (1973) and was the last of the chrome bumper cars, My car has 1 12v battery behind the heater box, its a skinny little bastard thats hard to find at most battery places. I dont know when the conversion to 12V took place but some of the older cars, (like our old 60 healey) was a 6 volt Positive earth system its possible that that MGB is a older 6V car. if that is the case then yoiu can pretty readily find instructions on the net for converting. Considering the amount of wiring we have done on both of our MGs i can tell you DO NOT trust the original wiring for things, Run your own fuse block, and wire in new wiring for all of your drivetrain needs. I would even be tempted to rewire things such as signals and brake lights as well. As for the bolt pattern, it would be 4 on 4.5 inches. Found on some Datsun/Nissans, Mazdas and Kias at least thats what the Midget wheels are now (Had Knockoff wire wheels when i got it) and as far as i know the MGB wheels are the same.

I think for now i will retain the 1275cc motor, its got a great sound and while it isnt fast, its peppy enough to be a blast around town. It is slower than the mustang but for some reason it doesnt bother me nearly as much. What some people do though is put 13b Rotarys, small v6's and even a Vtec or 2 in these cars. 2.3T's are also a good motor to use. There is a guy on turboford that has a 2.3t MGB. looks like fun in a death defying sort of way.

Dr.

Bearded Forever · May 21, 2004

Why not just put a turbo on the built engine?

140cilx · May 21, 2004

That's cool 351. I say you should use the n/a RW engine. Let us know if it's as jazzy and worthwhile as we'd think.

Dr. yours is a beaut!

351wcoupe · May 21, 2004

I talked to the guy about rewiring the car front to back. That was his suggestions also. This mgb is a 12v but it used 2 6volt batteries wired in series. Both batteries sit in the floor pan behind the front seats.

Cro:
That thought crossed my mind too. I'm waiting on the engine specs before I consider that. Its probably cammed 9.5k and at least 11 to 1.

140:
I'm thinking about putting it back together as both of the last owners wanted. Then we'll see what happens.

Dr_EluSivE · May 21, 2004

the 2 6 volt is something i havent seen before, i havent dealt with many "B"s most of my work has been on a old 60' bugeye, 67 sprite, and my 73 midget, what kind of suspention setup has been installed under the front and rear of that car? You might check and see if you are still running the stock lever shocks and look at fabbing up a conversion. Im still running the levers but i dont have alot of hp either. The leaf spring rearend is also a pain for racing.

Dr. yours is a beaut!

Thanks!, but mine needs a Transmission its still driveable but it has to be driven with great care otherwise things Jam up. And driving with car is no fun in these cars. I am currently on the lookout for a datsun 210 transmission for a 5 speed conversion

Dr.

notched86 · May 21, 2004

2.3T in an MGB...that would be a neat little car!

Just think...head work...hybrid turbo...you could have a rocket!

351wcoupe · May 21, 2004

I think he mentioned something about it being switched from lever shocks. What is that exactly? He did say everything suspension wise was replaced and some was aftermarket(lowering springs). The rear springs looked like they have been moved closer together because it looks like my ET Streets will fit fine.

I would probably have more luck with the head work than the hybrid.

Dr_EluSivE · May 21, 2004

351wcoupe said:
I think he mentioned something about it being switched from lever shocks. What is that exactly? He did say everything suspension wise was replaced and some was aftermarket(lowering springs). The rear springs looked like they have been moved closer together because it looks like my ET Streets will fit fine.

the lever shocks are shocks that instead of having an Oil filled tube, they have 2 pistons in them that squish the oil back and forth and its basically a box, with a lever attached to it.and the end of the lever attached to the suspention (its actually serves as the upper control arm on the front) The levers are cool when they are new because you can revalve them for different shock tensions but by now they have either been run empty and trashed the pistons, or have locked up and stripped the splines inside, or they are just plain worn out. I have a new set i am getting ready to put on the MG but they are expensive. The conversion kits cost around 1500 bucks too so i really cant afford to switch. Check minimania.com for good suspention parts for mg's

Dr.

351wcoupe · May 22, 2004

These look like regular shocks. I didn't see anything that I didn't recognize under it and I wouldn't have known what a lever shock looked like.
The more I thought about it.....He said the front suspension was almost all aftermarket and the rear springs appeared to be replacements springs off a small chrylser or even the pinto that the rear came from.

Dr_EluSivE · May 22, 2004

351wcoupe said:
These look like regular shocks. I didn't see anything that I didn't recognize under it and I wouldn't have known what a lever shock looked like.
The more I thought about it.....He said the front suspension was almost all aftermarket and the rear springs appeared to be replacements springs off a small chrylser or even the pinto that the rear came from.

if you get a chance take some pics of the front suspension, i would be interested to see what has been done to it

Dr.

351wcoupe · May 24, 2004

Dr_EluSivE said:
if you get a chance take some pics of the front suspension, i would be interested to see what has been done to it

Dr.

I get it in about 8 hours. The front suspension might be bone stock or something crazy. I'll get some pics though.
I saw something on ebay about a partial MG suspension and part mustang GT??? Have you heard anything about this?

Dr_EluSivE · May 24, 2004

351wcoupe said:
I get it in about 8 hours. The front suspension might be bone stock or something crazy. I'll get some pics though.
I saw something on ebay about a partial MG suspension and part mustang GT??? Have you heard anything about this?

No, aside from a lower a arm and coil spring the 2 suspension types have noting in common. Im not sure how you could mix pieces. the MG has a Kingpin Style suspension, and the stang a McPherson strut so Im not really sure what kind of hybrid you could come up with. the MG doesnt have any shock towers or places to mount a strut.

Dr.

351wcoupe · Jun 1, 2004

ok its been a little while since I picked up the car but I've been really busy.
It appears to be all stock and still has the lever shocks. I think I can make shock towers on the car but will that have any benefits??

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